"Suspicious Death Of Quincy Soldier Ruled Suicide"

QUINCY (WBZ) ― Nine months after National Guard Specialist Ciara Durkin of Quincy was found dead in Afghanistan, the Army has ruled her death as a suicide.

Durkin was found dead of a single gunshot wound to her head in a secure area of Bagram Airfield last September.

Her family released a statement to WBZ Radio saying its "upset and saddened by the Army's finding."

The statement said the pain of Ciara's loss was "compounded by a protracted and at times ambiguous investigation."

The investigation was requested by Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry and by Durkin's congressman Rep. Bill Delahunt after Durkin's sister expressed concerns about the circumstances surrounding her death.

She said Durkin told her family if anything happened to her while she was deployed it should be investigated.

Durkin, 30, immigrated from Ireland. She was a member 726th Finance Battalion, handling payroll in Afghanistan for her fellow soldiers.

Durkin's family first complained that military officials provided conflicting information about her death, telling them she was killed "in action," but later saying she died in a "non-combat related incident."

The family had discounted the possibility of suicide at the time, saying Durkin was upbeat during her last visit home.

She was promoted posthumously to Corporal.

I don't buy it. There's no way she killed herself. This obvious cover up is an insult to both Ciara's honor and her family's loss.